The
TVR Company in Blackpool, England,
started out like so many other sports car
manufacturers by bolting in house designed,
lightweight special bodies onto tried and tested
mechanicals. The first TVR Grantura made its
debut in 1958 and would lead to a whole series of
Grantura models, from the Mk I to the Mk IV and
1800S.

The first of the
Granturas had a glass reinforced plastic
coupé style body shell, that had a long bonnet
and a stubby tail and which made use of a wide
variety of proprietary components. The bonnet was
front hinged like the Ford Anglia 105E and there was no hatch or
opening at the rear. Any luggage stored in the
boot area could only be accessed from inside the
car, with the spare wheel having to be removed
through the front doors, if required. The engine
bay was large enough to allow buyers to choose
from a whole range of power plants including the 997cc Ford 105E engine. The body was
moulded to a tubular steel frame that featured
VW-based trailing-link independent suspension to
both front and rear and BMC sourced brakes and
rear axle.

TVR
Grantura Mk I

The Grantura Mk II was introduced in
late 1960 and was a lightly modified Mark I with
several visual improvements to the lights and
wings. The main difference from the Mk I was the
introduction of the option of the MGA 1588cc
engine which produced 80 bhp

TVR
Grantura Mk II

The
Mk II was only produced for a few months before
further improvements were made. The Grantura Mk
IIa that followed in early 1961 was basically a
Grantura Mk II with Girling front disc brakes,
rack and pinion steering, a modified engine
line-up and a quarter light that could no longer
be opened.

TVR
Grantura Mk IIA

In
1963 a final series of cars which had a new,
longer and stiffer chassis and coil spring
independent suspension was produced. This chassis
would form the basis of the one used by TVR up to
the launch of the 2500M cars in 1972.